If you’ll recall, there’s a short (two-episode) special drama starring Im Joo-hwan that is set to air soon, which will precede his full-length drama role in the upcoming What’s Up. It had previously been titled Hyunhaetan Marriage War, where “Hyunhaetan” refers to the strait between Korea and Japan and is a metaphor for the plot that has a Korean man (Im) marrying a Japanese woman (Rie). The drama is set to air over the weekend, but now has a new name: Marriage War of Doenjang-kun and Natto-chan. Doenjang is the Korean word for fermented bean paste, while natto is a similar Japanese type of bean paste (they’re not exactly the same food, but the analogy is clear).

Im Joo-hwan said, “It’s a great honor to participate in a drama with such meaning, with which I can greet both Korean and Japanese fans at the same time.” He plays a bright and cheerful character, in contrast to the curt Park Kyu of his breakout role, last year’s Tamra the Island. He also had to speak in the saturi dialect (his character is from Busan, in the south), which he found awkward at first but was helped along by the director and older actors on set.

The drama is a romantic comedy that is described as a sweet love story that is both “warm and enjoyable,” and will air on February 27 and 28 on MBC. What’s Up, meanwhile, will air later this summer.

Tamra the Island‘s Im Joo-hwan has a drama series coming up (campus series What’s Up), but first he’ll be seen in an MBC special drama called Hyunhaetan Marriage War [현해탄 결혼전쟁]. He’ll star with Rie (full name Akiba Rie), a Misuda (Global Talk Show) panelist from Japan.

The story is about a typical Korean man and a Japanese woman who fall in love while working together on a Korea-Japan joint project, but face family opposition to their marriage. Hyunhaetan is the name of the strait between Japan and Korea; hence the title, which is a metaphor for the couple’s struggles.